Christian Vazquez entered the season as the consensus primary catcher for the Boston Red Sox. But of late, Sandy Leon has given him a run for his money, and the playing time for the two has swayed in Leon’s favor.
That certainly is by design.
Leon, who is hitting .361 with a trio of doubles, pair of home runs and six RBIs in the month of May, has made a case that he should be in the lineup more regularly, and manager Alex Cora has obliged recently. And when given the chance Leon has not let the skipper down.
Meanwhile, Vazquez has hit sub-.200 all season, and his slumping ways don’t appear to have an end in sight.
And though Vazquez carried the load earlier in the season, it appears the two will split time for the foreseeable future, especially if Leon continues to tear the cover off the ball.
“Sometimes I wonder, if you play them too much, will their offensive production be the same?” Cora said before Wednesday’s 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. “It seems when we started adding Sandy to the equation more and more, it seems like both of them are benefitting from it.
“I do feel they can catch every day, but I like where we’re at right now, especially offensively.”
This is not the first time Leon has gone on a tear at the dish. In fact, his current run of form is similar to what he did during the first half of the 2016 season, when he hit .455 with nine doubles, as many RBIs and a homer.
Especially given his abilities on defense are on the same plain as Vazquez’s, whether this offense is here to stay for Leon (who is a career .244 hitter) or not, he certainly has proven his bat belongs in the lineup on a regular basis.
